Uggla an unlikely World Series ring recipient with Giants

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San Francisco Giants' Dan Uggla, second from left, gets high-fives from his teammates after scoring the first run of the game on Hunter Pence's infield single in the third inning of a Major League Baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Sunday, July 27, 2014. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)

San Francisco Giants second baseman Dan Uggla, left, throws over Los Angeles Dodgers' Hanley Ramirez too late to double up Carl Crawford in the fourth inning of a Major League Baseball game at AT&T Park in San Francisco, Sunday, July 27, 2014. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)

Dan Uggla’s brief stint with the Giants last summer knows it was not a thing of beauty. In his four games last July, the Giants’ would-be solution at second base went 0 for 11 with six strikeouts and three errors. The good news for Giants fans was that Uggla’s horrendous showing made it easy to give rookie

Joe Panik another shot at the job — and everyone knows what happened from there.

But there is also upside for the 35-year-old Uggla, who is still collecting $13 million from the Atlanta Braves, while trying to recover from ocular issues and make the N.L.-favorite Nationals roster. Oh, and there’s a World Series ring on the way, too. He got the text in January, according to CBSsportsline.com, from the Giants’ traveling secretary: “What’s your ring size?”

“I think it’s awesome,” Uggla said from Nats camp in Florida. “You obviously feel kind of undeserving. But it’s really cool of them to include everybody. I’m really excited, and appreciative to the guys. I wish it could have been a longer stay.”

Uggla, who routinely killed the Giants at AT&T Park as a visitor with the Braves and Marlins, told CBS he thinks his downward spiral was caused by two beanballs, one in 2012 and one in ’13, that he says triggered concussions, and ultimately, vision problems. He thinks the Giants were smart to dump him quickly and he cheered them all the way to the title: “I’m really happy for everyone,” Uggla said.

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